The podcast industry has spent the last several years evolving at a pace few would have predicted when the medium was just beginning to gain mainstream traction.
It’s not just about audio anymore. The pivot to video-first strategies has become the dominant storyline, with platforms like YouTube emerging as the de facto listening hub for more and more shows. But with so many creators adopting this model, it begs the obvious question: where do we go from here?
Sounds Profitable partner Tom Webster put it perfectly: “Our industry moves at lightning speed, with every 2 years since 2014 feeling almost unrecognizable from the one before it.”
That’s not hyperbole. Think about how the landscape has changed since the start of the pandemic alone. Independent creators became household names. Legacy media companies launched a dizzying number of new shows. And the rush to video has made podcasts look more like talk shows than anything resembling the iPod-native audio files that started this entire medium.
If the last decade has been about podcasts gaining legitimacy, the last two years have been about chasing eyeballs, not just ears. Creators, networks, and advertisers all seem to agree that if you aren’t producing a video podcast, you’re limiting your reach. That line of thinking isn’t wrong—YouTube is a juggernaut—but it also creates the next great challenge. When everyone is doing video, what makes a podcast different from every other video-driven piece of content on the internet?
The podcast industry can’t stay stagnant, because stagnation means irrelevance in an entertainment space where consumer habits evolve daily. A shift to video-first won’t be enough to sustain the growth creators and advertisers want if the product itself doesn’t innovate. Video is the trend now, but trends don’t stay trends forever. Something else will define the medium in 2026 just as video defines it in 2024.
What might that be? Will we see AI-powered personalization deliver curated podcast experiences on demand, essentially creating unique shows for each listener? Could interactivity become the next frontier, where listeners don’t just consume but actively participate in episodes? Or does the future lie in an even greater blending of mediums, where podcasts aren’t just video shows but full-scale multimedia projects with live events, companion newsletters, and social media extensions baked into every launch?
One risk is that by chasing video, the industry loses sight of what made podcasts compelling in the first place: intimacy. Audio is a lean-in experience. You’re in someone’s ears during a commute, a workout, or a quiet moment at home. Video expands the audience, but it also changes the dynamic. A podcast that functions more like daytime television might be appealing to advertisers, but will it satisfy the hardcore listeners who made this industry thrive in the first place?
Webster’s observation reminds us that nothing stays the same for long. The podcast industry has reinvented itself several times already, from a niche hobby to a serious ad-supported business, to a video-driven platform with global influence. The next reinvention is coming, whether we’re ready or not. That’s the part that should both excite and terrify creators and executives.
The next two years will almost certainly bring another seismic change. It could be technological, it could be cultural, and it could come from outside the podcast industry entirely. The only thing that seems certain is that when we look back at 2024 from the vantage point of 2026, this current moment will feel every bit as dated as the pre-video era does now.
That’s why it’s not enough to just follow the current trend. The smart podcasters, networks, and advertisers are already asking the harder questions. What happens after video? What happens when YouTube isn’t the growth engine everyone assumes it will always be? And most importantly, what will keep audiences coming back once the novelty of watching podcasts fades?
Tom Webster is right: our industry moves at lightning speed. If that’s true, then we’re already living in the final days of the video-first era. The real leaders in this space are the ones imagining what will replace it before the rest of us realize it needs replacing.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
